Unexpected Situations
by D.H. Karanza
Summary: Aries is a made vampire, having been one since the Roman Empire. He never fell in love...till he was blessed with four very different children. This story will follow the children of each type of Night World person in their teen years, searching for themselves. They'll find what they weren't looking for and get what they don't want.
1. Prologue

**Christmas Eve, 2002**

The night was cold and black. The lone figure making his way through the dark col-d-sac was the only anomaly to be found on this quiet evening.

The figure was shrouded in a heavy coat and if anyone had seen him, he would have looked as if he had a hunchback.

He started walking faster when he heard a car pass. He seemed intent and utterly focused on his task.

The man looked at the bundle he was carrying and smiled—if it can actually be _classified_ as smiling. The bundle squirmed and emitted out a small huff. It was cold and hungry, he could tell. He hushed the baby and cooed to it. Probably the only thing he'd ever done that was considered to be gentle. He had to, anyway. The baby _was_ his master's kid. He didn't want to hurt the child even though he bitterly hated its father.

The man arrived at his destination. It was the last house on the block. The house was small but cozy looking. What a home _should_ look like. The man gently placed the babe on the worn doormat with the word _welcome_ faded into it. He smiled. _The kid'll __like it here_, he thought to himself. _I hope_. He knocked and fled the step, leaving the child to the person inside, hoping and praying that the babe will be safe.

~oOo~

Aries opened up the door. He had just gotten his children to go to bed for the night, but it was a tough job. They'd been so excited about presents and cookies and Santa Claus... Like other normal children. He couldn't help but smile at that thought. They were anything _but_ normal children. As he was anything but a normal father.

The night was cold and dark. Aries was wondering who could have been at the door at this late hour. It was nearly eleven!

He was looking around for the person who had rung the doorbell, and just caught a glimpse of a shadow scaling the neighbor's fence before hearing a small cry. He looked down to where he'd heard the sound and saw a small bundle by his feet. He smiled.

_Another precious little gift on another beautiful eve__._

Aries picked up the child, who had started crying, and took it inside.

"I wonder who brought you here," he mumbled to the child as he closed the door. He sat down on the couch and just as he was about to open the blanket to determine the babe's sex, a sound made him look up to the hallway. His smile widened as he called to his kids. "Children, I know you're there. You should come out and look at this gift left by a stranger."

Three small heads popped out around the hallway wall, and each pair of eyes gave Aries a look of complete excitement.

"Did Santa give it to you?" inquired a little boy of about three. He made his way to the couch with his siblings toddling after him. He sat down next to Aries and looked at the baby. His jewel-brown eyes took in the child's face as his nose sniffed it. "It's not like me," he said, scratching his jet black hair. "Is he like you?"

"No," answered Aries. "I don't exactly know what it is, but I know it isn't human." He untucked the blanket around the baby as his two other children crowded around to get a better look at the new child. They were excited just because Aries had called the thing a "gift". They were babies as well, one and two years old, but they were also precocious.

Aries held the child up to get a better look at it. It was a girl. He smiled at his youngest child, a girl with silver-blond hair and blue eyes. "Looks like you've got a sister, Holly." Holly dimpled, her understanding limited but she knew enough to be happy.

Aries sighed. The child was a girl. He already had one and was very glad she was only a baby. He needn't worry about the girl situations for a bit. All of a sudden, Aries felt an overwhelming sense of loneliness. He wanted a companion... _But when will I get the _time_?_ he thought.

"What're you gonna call her, Poppa?" asked his oldest child, Cyprus. Cyprus was like Aries, but he was growing, like a normal child. He was one of the _Lamia_, his parents leaving him on Aries's doorstep three years ago, similar to the new child's coming.

"I don't know, Cyprus," answered Aries. "I don't even know what she is..." Aries trailed off, thinking of how he was going to figure out the child's identity.

"Look!" cried his two-year-old. The only word that Luke knew, he continued to shout it, trying to get his father's attention but making the baby cry at the same time.

Aries looked down from the child he was holding, and gave his gaze to Luke. Luke was pointing at a small piece of paper, but the paper wasn't scrap. It was an expensive looking thing, with beautiful calligraphy written on it. Aries picked it up after he adjusted his hold on his new child. Looking at the paper, Aries read the words. It said:

_Name her Skylar. She is a Harman, but do not tell her. She's to think that she is yours and no one else's. I beg of you. Do not leave her. Keep her safe._

Aries smiled at his new daughter. The poor thing was crying her lungs out and making Cyprus wince while holding onto his ears. Holly was grinning at her new sister, enjoying Cyprus's torment. Luke was looking at the child, appearing to give a once over before deciding on whether or not to like her. And Aries... He was just staring at the new addition to his family and thinking that life couldn't get better.

"I think, Cyprus," Aries said, "that I'm going to call her Skylar."

"Do you know what she is, Poppa?" asked Cyprus in his high baby voice.

Aries nodded. "She's a witch."

* * *

_**Author's Note:**_

**Hey, people! This is my first attempt at writing a fanfic of L.J. Smith's _Night World_ series. I hope you guys like this! I'm currently trying to finish chapter two and I really want you guys to enjoy this. I appreciate you starting my story and I'll try updating as much as I can. I can't promise tho; I have writers' block. :/**

**I do not own the _Night World_ series, just the characters and plot of this fanfic. All rights reserved to L.J. Smith.  
**


	2. Cyprus's Girl

**End of August, Present Day: Cyprus's POV**

"I seriously don't want to go to school," whined Skylar, leaning her head against my car's dashboard.

It was her first day as a freshman, three years behind my senior. She was nervous and scared—something that was typical of my little sister. And, as always, I rolled my eyes at the little twerp. I was _so_ not in the mood for her dramatics.

"Look, little sis," I mumbled lowly, giving her a dangerous sidelong glance, aimed to make her shiver. She looked back at me calmly. "This year is my last year at this _human_ high school and I'd rather you not make it even more miserable." I returned my eyes to the road, expecting her to accept my warning quietly.

I was wrong, naturally.

"Oh, hush, Cyprus," she chided in her soprano voice. "Humans aren't that terrible. The adult ones, at least. The young ones, though, are kinda annoying…."

I tuned her out, sighing. I'd never understood her tolerance of humans but apparently, she had a good reason to relate to them. She was a witch, not so different from humans, other than the magic she possessed in her blood. She felt as if she had similarities with them, which was utterly ridiculous. To me, humans weren't similar to her, other witches or all the races in the Night World. Especially vampires. At least that was what I thought before I met the one that changed everything.

~oOo~

I walked with Skylar down the hall toward her first class. Even though she was annoying, she was still my baby sister and I was protective of her. Which meant I stared daggers at any boy who dared to look at her appreciatively.

Skylar was in her own world, though. She didn't see the boys, probably choosing to ignore them. I was glad. At the tender age of fourteen, the girl was already a beauty. Her hair was like moonlight, silvery blond, short and silky. Her small elfin face had freckles across her cheekbones, black lashes framing wide, blue eyes and her forehead covered by silver bangs. She was small, barely five feet two. She looked like something supernatural. She was an innocent beauty.

"Cyprus," Skylar whispered to me, glancing up. She looked even more nervous.

"What?" I replied.

"The boys are staring at me. I don't like it."

Hm. She _had_ noticed.

"Ignore them," was my answer. We were almost to her class.

She nodded, looking like my answer hadn't helped in the slightest. "Are there any...?" she trailed off, expecting me to finish her sentence mentally. _Are there any other witches here?_

I nodded solemnly. It made sense that she'd asked. She needed friends of her own kind. "At this school, we have different clubs for different types," I explained. "I thought you knew that." I glanced at her questioningly.

Skylar shrugged. "I know _that_ but I don't know the details." She rubbed at the inside of her left wrist, something she did when she was nervous. I think it was to reassure her of what she was. It _was_ where the tattoo of the black dahlia was...

"I don't know the details of your circle, either, little sis," I replied. "But make sure your tattoo shows and maybe they'll come find you."

She nodded, still unsure. We were at her classroom and I still had a few minutes to get to mine. But first, I had to go find Ivy.

"Well," I said to Skylar, "this is your stop. Good luck, kid." I winked at her, turning my back to walk away. She was smiling with affectionate eyes.

~oOo~

"I saw you with that little beauty," whispered a cool voice. The sound felt like it was should be right next to me, but it wasn't. I knew it came from afar, but I was a vampire—of course I could hear it.

"Jealous?" I whispered back with a cocky smile. _Where was she?_ I thought. My ears pricked sensitively, listening to any kind of movement that would show where she was.

The rustle of leaves coming from the left caught my attention. _There._

I was at the back of the school, where almost no one came...at least no one of human origin. It was the perfect place for the Vampire Club to rendezvous.

The place was a little clearing with trees on the outside, encircling it almost completely, making an opening on the north side, facing the school.

I had just walked through the clearing when she called out to me. So I jumped into the nearest tree, nimbly climbing its branches till I reached the top. Then I jumped the trees quickly and quietly; one would need to strain one's ears if he or she wanted to hear—if one were human.

I suddenly stopped. I was in the third-to-middle tree, staring at the very beautiful Ivy Dogwood. Her long tresses of ruby-red hair hung down her back untamed, while her violet eyes smiled in delight—though the rest of her face remained stoic.

"Not jealous," she replied. "Merely curious." She studied her ivy green painted fingernails, her lips in a slight pout.

"About what?" I inquired, seemingly uninterested. But I was immediately suspicious. If this weren't a game and Ivy planned on doing what she did, then we were going to have a problem.

On the outside, though, I leaned my torso on the trunk, admiring Ivy's body. She was wearing a dark purple tank top with cutoff jeans. In that simple outfit, she looked gorgeous. Ivy was _very_ pretty and she knew it.

"The girl," Ivy said, nonchalantly. She continued her inspection on her fingernails.

"Pretty little thing, ain't she?" I answered, flashing white teeth. _Where was she going with this? _I thought.

Ivy nodded in agreement. "Very pretty. I loved her outfit. I might try that out sometime."

I winced inwardly. Ivy's style was a very careful uncaring look. Skylar's wasn't. Her image of the last time I saw her—before I left her at the door of her classroom—flashed in my mind. I hadn't noticed what she was wearing.

As I analyzed the image, I realized that Skylar had on a flowy orange-brown skirt that hugged her hips and a white v-neck shirt. On her feet were golden sandals and her left ankle was adorned in Gypsy-styled bracelets. Her right arm also sported an arm bracelet. I guess it was okay.

"Nah," I replied. Ivy's eyebrows rose questioningly. "I like you like this." I smiled charmingly.

Ivy smiled back warmly. "Thank you, Cyprus." She winked.

I looked at my watch. We had about a minute before the bell rang. I jumped out of the tree, landing lightly on the balls of my feet. "I dunno about you, but I don't wanna be late for the first day," I called up to Ivy. She was next to me in a split second.

"I don't know if I'm actually gonna go to homeroom," she replied in an honest tone. "I really cannot stand the looks the footballer—what's his name?—gives me. He's _human_, too. Only adds to it."

I laughed, shifting my arm over her shoulders. "His name's Keith McCarty. He's meaty, isn't he?"

"Hm, I suppose."

I chuckle, leading the vampire to the school full of humans. "Just try not to kill him, 'kay, Ivy? For me, at least."

Ivy leaned on her toes, pecking me on my lips. "For you, I won't." She smiled.

"Thanks, babe," I replied.

We continued walking to the school, our pace seemingly effortless, though if someone had seen, we'd look like we were sprinting.

"So, Cyprus," Ivy said once we were inside the school. Our pace went back to normal human standards, slow and dull. The few people who still loitered in the hall stared at us as we passed. It was a normal thing to us but annoying.

"Yes, Ivy?" I replied.

"Who was the girl? She looked a bit too young for your taste," Ivy said, in a nervous tone. Even though we knew each other well enough to trust the other wouldn't kill a child, Ivy still got nervous. I couldn't blame her—my behavior "worried" her.

"Relax, babe," I replied. "That was my sister, Skylar. Remember her?" I laughed as Ivy's face went from anxious to clearly relieved. I pushed her into a little niche and placed my mouth on top of hers, giving her one luscious kiss before I had to go.

As I released her lips, she sighed. Her breath on my neck lifted up the fine hairs. "Have fun," she said, before sashaying her way to class.

~oOo~

I was in my sixth period class, waiting impatiently for the bell to ring. It was the last class of the day and I wanted to go _home_. The class was an elective that focused mainly on Urban Myths and Legends humans have created over the years. And, of course, I couldn't give one fuck about that stuff. Anything that dealt with humans bored the crap right out of me. I didn't know why I had to attend this human school. I mean, yeah, it was cool that I got a free education and crap. But I knew exactly what I wanted to do when I was out of there: work for the Redfern Industries. It was practical and guaranteed me a good amount of money—I was, after all, on good terms with Hunter Redfern's great-granddaughter: Ivy.

Little did I know that all my plans—every single one of them, including the one with the _money_ involved—turned to dust the instant I saw _her_...

The bell rang and I instantly shot up out of my seat, anxious to get away from the humans that stare at me. I was walking towards the parking lot, when I saw her. But then, the universe wanted me to be totally and utterly confused.

When I saw her, I was just about to unlock the door when a force pulled my eyes up to meet hers. She was across the street, just staring at me. My first thought was supposed to be _What a freak_, but everything was overridden by a sudden pulling that connected us.

At first glance, I saw a moderately pretty girl with brown hair, long, thick and straight. She was short, curvy and completely innocent-looking. But that was at first _glance_.

A second longer, I felt something different. The thing was, I didn't just _see _her. I _felt_ her at first, physically, sort of. Then, suddenly, she was the only thing I knew. The only thing that was keeping me from falling to the deep depths of hell and burning alive. She was my gravity, my sun, my breath. My world. It was so weird, but I felt complete. Felt like I had nothing to do on the planet but just exist for _her_. And I knew that she felt the same way when our eyes met.

The sensations that I felt were totally surreal and confused the complete fuck out of me. But I didn't have time to actually freak out—she started walking towards me. That's when I knew that the pretty girl I had just connected with was a human.

* * *

_**Note:**_

**Honestly, I don't really know about the last part. Cyprus is going to be one of the main characters here, along with his siblings, whom I still have to introduce. Just give me some criticism and I'll fix what I can. Thanks a lot for reading. I feel special. :D The next chapter will be about Holly and Luke, so please stay tuned!  
**


	3. Holly's Luck

**Same Day, Holly's POV:**

"Come _on_, Luke! We've gotta go!" I yelled up the stairs at my fifteen year old brother. He was in the bathroom, fixing up his hair for the umpteenth time. He spent a lot more time in that room more than Skylar and I _combined_. And he _knew_ I was annoyed by that. So, naturally, he did it for me.

"Alright, alright, _Mom_," replied Luke. I rolled my eyes.

He bounded down the stairs, his lanky legs clad in board shorts and his wide chest covered in a white v-neck t-shirt. His hair was a messy white spiky thing growing out of his head. I never understood why he even bothered _trying_ to tame it. It was always defiant to its owner.

I glared at him while he slung his bag over his shoulder. "We're going to be late."

Luke raised a blond brow. "So? It's just school. A _human_ school, sis."

I sighed. Apparently Luke didn't care for humans almost as much as our older brother, Cyprus. Not surprising. "I do not _care_ if it's a human school. All I care is that I get there on time so I won't be late for my club meeting. I _am_ the VP, anyway. Not impressive to be late on the first day."

Luke rolled his eyes. "They won't care if you're late. They'd understand. They are shapeshifters, too, Holly."

"Luke, I don't _care_ if they're shapeshifters too! I just wanna go to school! Cyprus and Skylar are already there! How does _that_ look?" My voice was full of venom.

Luke's eyes widened. I hardly ever yelled, but when I did, it was only when someone hit a sore spot. This time it was because of Luke's stupid prejudice against humans. At school, he never said what was on his mind, because the humans would turn against him and he totally did not want that. Over there, he was a heart-throb for the girls in his grade and even some in mine. (Totally gross.) He loved his popularity, even if it were from humans. I hated the hypocrisy.

At this moment, though, he just stared at me warily and said, "Drive me to school, Holly."

I nodded brusquely, leading the way to my 1999 Volkswagen Buggy. The whole drive to school was tense and silent.

~oOo~

As soon as I parked the Buggy, Luke was flying out the car, almost walking with inhuman speed toward his group of friends.

I sighed sadly as I watched my little brother walk up to his human friends. His friends revered him like a god because of his natural ability to fit in everywhere and his coolness he always seemed to emanate. And then there were the girls! They stared at his toned calves and drooled over his broad shoulders. It was sickening! They obviously didn't know that he did _not_ get those muscles from all the soccer he plays. They didn't _know_ anything about him. Not his friends nor his girl posse.

They didn't know how he came here. They didn't know that he was left on the curb for anyone to pick up. They didn't know that Cyprus and I had found him before he starved to death. They didn't know that he was almost picked up by a police officer, a _human_ one. If that cop had found him, he would have seen little Luke with furry arms and dog ears pointing out of his head. How would anyone explain a baby werewolf to humans?

I sighed again, frustrated. Luke was my favorite brother and I was protective of him. I had so much in common with him. We're both animals in the inside and knew what the other experienced while we were in our favorite forms: his white wolf and my golden eagle. I just hated the way he presented himself. Especially as the others watched.

_Oh, shit!_ _My meeting! I'm so late!_

I rushed out of the car, hurrying to the edge of the school, where there was nothing but a field of grass there. The meeting place for my kind.

~oOo~

As I arrived at the field, I saw that they were more kids than I'd expected there to be. It was the first day of school, yes, but I hadn't expected anymore than two or three freshmen shifters. Instead, there were at least six new shifters. I squinted, trying to count all the newbies. There were, alas, six new kids to the club. I sighed heavily. _So much to do..._

As I came up to the group, the president, Allie Caraway, was talking in her shrilly voice to the freshman. She glanced up to me, her blue eyes flashing with annoyance. "...Now that Miss Zane has chosen to join us, I'll let her explain what you are expected to do and how you are to present yourselves when dealing with the Others." She gave me a pointed look and glanced away to hide a smirk on her stupid face.

I shrugged inwardly. The girl, a senior, had always disliked me for unknown reasons. And I disliked her back because she was annoying as fuck. So I just turned my back to her, angling myself in front of her so that I hid her from view of the fifteen people waiting for me to speak. And I smiled a charming smile.

"Hello," I said in a clear voice. "My name is Holly Zane and I'm VP of the Animal Hearts Club. As you know, this club isn't really about community service to animal shelters and hospitals—even though we _do_ volunteer for the local shelters—it's a club in which teen shifters can be themselves and not have to worry about hiding their identity to the Others. We are a race of people who are unique and incredible; we love ourselves and our forms. No one but the Werewolves understand this." At this, there were scoffs. My face hardened a bit. "Whatever your opinion, they _do_ understand us. But we are in a world dominated by humans, with their wars and their conflicts. If they ever find out about us, we may be doomed to their hunters and their politics. So, in this school—this _world—_we are to hide ourselves from them. Act like them. Be like them. Be a _human_ for the school day."

The kids in front of me screwed up their faces in disgust. I winced at their expressions and sighed sadly. "I'm sorry for the inconvenience," I continued. "But these are the things that you have to do, whether you like it or not."

I looked at the sea of fifteen faces, all of them different. I could tell that most of them weren't from the prominent families of the area, like Allie and I were.

I stifled a sound of disgust as I thought of Allie's family. I didn't particularly like Allie herself, but I absolutely _loathed_ her brother. He was a junior like I was, and a shifter. He changed into rattle snake, perfect fit to his personality. I hated the way he looked at me, the way he talked to me, like I was a prize he would one day get his hands on. I shivered involuntarily.

_Enough_, I told myself. _Keep on task here, girl._

I sucked in a breath and looked into each eye that was staring at me. I steeled myself before I said what the kids so obviously didn't want to hear. "We are what we are, but we have to be like _them_."

~OoO~

The school day was almost over. I was so happy that it was the last period. I was tired of acting like something I'm not. And I was glad, too. I loved sleeping after school.

The bell rang and the students all but ran out of the classrooms. I was the last behind, as usual. I never hurried for anything, except maybe for school. As I was walking out of the room, a shiver ran down my back. Then I was shoved into a tiny broom closet.

"What the _hell_?"

As my eyes were adjusting to the dim light, I noticed that my waist was being held by a strong arm and that someone's breath was inhaling my scent. I was tightly pressed against someone's hard stomach.

"What the _hell_?" I repeated.

The guy lowered his head, his mouth right by my jaw. "Mm, you smell _so_ good, Holly."

I shivered involuntarily at the sound of his voice. _Caleb_.

"Would you please let go of me?" I asked in a stiff voice. I was trying hard to relax my body so that I didn't seem scared of him. I didn't want him to feel me scared.

Caleb sighed. "Oh, _why_ would I want to do that?" I heard a creepy smile in his voice.

"Because I'll kick your ass if you don't," I replied angrily.

Caleb laughed, softly. "Oh, baby girl, you can't do that. You're too soft." His hand traveled down my hip and landed on my butt, squeezing it.

I almost screamed but managed not to. So I scoffed. "Oh, PLEASE."

Then I pushed him off me, kneed him in his groin and punched him in the eye. Caleb grunted and fell back on to the back wall. He covered his eye and glared at me with the other. He was back on his feet in a millisecond.

"You shouldn't have done that, love," he growled.

I just smiled and flipped him off. "Fuck off, Caleb. Next time, I'll have Cyprus join me in kicking your ass. I'll bet he'd like that."

Caleb gave a little roar and lunged at me. I opened the door in that second and slammed it in his terrifyingly handsome face. I kept my back against the door, firmly holding it against Caleb's thrusts. I waited until the last student walked out of the building before running at full speed, away from Caleb.

~OoO~

"What took you so long?" asked Luke as I jogged up to my car. He eyed my wild hair and my disheveled clothes.

I just shook my head and unlocked the car doors. Luke climbed into the car with me, still staring at me.

"Holly," he said. He waited for me to answer but I just started up the car and drove out of the school parking lot.

"Holly." His voice was hard when he said my name. "What _happened_ to you?"

There was silence. I didn't say anything for the longest time and it looked like Luke had given up on getting an answer from me. We were already home, in the driveway, when I spoke.

"I beat the crap outta Caleb," I finally replied.

Luke smiled. "Hell yeah!" He reached his hand up to give me a high-five but his face went slack and he paused. "Wait... _Why_ did you beat up Caleb?"

I sighed and slumped back into my seat. "Why does it matter? I beat up Caleb!" I closed my eyes and rubbed my temples.

"Good for you, Holly," answered Luke. "But what did he _do _to you to get beat up?"

I groaned. "Nothing, Luke."

"So you're telling me that you beat the fuck outta Caleb for no reason?"

I nodded weakly, eyes still closed. But I could tell that Luke didn't believe me.

"Holly." He waited until I looked at him. "What. Did. He. Do. To. You." He looked furious.

"Whoa, calm down, bro." I wiped my hands down my face as I sighed wearily.

"No! I will not calm down! That son of a fucker should pay for whatever the hell he did to you!" Luke stormed out of the car and marched up to the house, yelling about Caleb.

"Luke!" I called, running after him. "Would you seriously calm down? It wasn't a big deal!"

"What _happened_, Holly?!" he screamed at me once he was inside the house. Cyprus came out of the first floor bathroom with a towel wrapped around his lower half. His soft brown hair was dripping wet, flopping over his eyes. He looked utterly confused but not the least bit disturbed. I didn't even spare a second glance at him.

"Noth—" I started saying but Luke interrupted me.

"_No_, nothing didn't happen. _Something_ happened and you're gonna tell me or I'll go straight to that asshole's house and _EAT_ him." Luke's eyes flashed as he said the word _eat_.

"Who are you gonna eat, Luke?" said a soft, curious voice from the top of the staircase. I looked up and I saw Skylar leaning over the railing and looking at Luke with her ocean blue eyes, making them smile with fondness ever so slightly. She adjusted her position so she was resting her elbows on the railing and her skirt flowed around her ankles with a grace I had always envied.

Luke's eyes barely flashed to answer Skylar's voice before returning his glare to my face. "Caleb," he growled.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Skylar wince delicately. "Oh my," she whispered, but of course I'd heard it. Shifter senses were awesome.

"What did he _do_?" hissed a deep voice from behind. I jumped about two feet in the air when I realized Cyprus was right behind me. _Damn vampire speed_, I cursed in my head. _Damn "awesome" shifter senses_, I added. I turned slowly toward my older brother, really not wanting to see his face.

I gave up on trying to pacify Luke when I saw the look on Cyprus's face. I didn't know why at the time, but the boy's eyes looked like someone had electrocuted him from the inside-out. It kinda scared me. "Are you okay, Cyprus?" I asked, cautiously.

His eyes hardened even more and he shook his head. "Everything will be _perfect_ if you just tell Luke and I what that fucker did to you."

I sighed and walked over the foot of the stairs. I felt Skylar's gaze on me but I didn't want to look at her face. I sat down on the last step and put my face in my hands. "Caleb forced me into a closet and kinda squeezed my butt and I kicked his ass and drove home." I said it in one-half of a breath.

There was silence.

I chanced a peek at my brothers and realized they weren't even there. I frantically looked around, searching for someone when I saw Skylar at the door. "Where are they?" I asked, getting up to stand by Skylar.

She shrugged her tiny shoulders and looked at me. "Out to get Caleb, I suppose. Are you okay? He didn't do anything more, right?" She looked really worried.

"That's all he did, thank the goddess," I answered. She smiled at me slightly, still worried.

* * *

**_Note:_  
**

**End of chapter two! I'm very sorry for not uploading in a while. I have school and stuff. AP classes are killing me! Anyway, the third chapter will be in Skylar's POV after Cyprus meets his girl. Then we'll get to this part and maybe the fourth chapter will be in Luke's POV. Just tell me what you guys think about this and I'd love the reviews! They're awesome! Thanks for reading! I shall upload soon! :D**


	4. Skylar's Solution

**Same Day, After School. Skylar's POV**

I walked out of the school through the back gates when the bell signaled that the day was over. I hated the thought of going through the front gates because of the group of _boys_ would be there. The human boys here, whatever their age, weren't so subtle about what they thought of me. It bothered me when they called me _babe_ or _sweetheart_. And it was going on all day.

I was so ready to vent to Cyprus as soon as I got to his car. But when I got to the parking lot I noticed Cyprus staring across the street. I looked that way and saw a girl staring back at him. I was about to walk up to Cyprus, confused as to why he was staring at her like he'd just seen the sun for the first time, when the girl started walking towards him.

I paused and waited. Waited to see what would happen when she got to him. Wondering furiously if he'd simply snub her or actually talk to her.

I was quite literally shocked when he grabbed the girl and shoved his face next to hers.

I couldn't see what he was doing, but I was kinda relieved that he didn't drink her blood or anything since his chin was right by her ear. It looked like he was saying something but I couldn't tell; the girl's hair was covering his lips. And then, he let go of her almost as fast as he grabbed her. Then she walked away.

Of course, I was utterly and totally confused. But I wasn't going to ask Cyprus. He wouldn't have told me anything. So right there, I decided that a little _magic_ could help me figure out this little situation.

~oOo~

As soon as I met up with Cyprus, I noticed that the boy was totally freaked out. I didn't know at the time why, but I had a feeling it was because of that girl.

I was really confused, though. For Cyprus, girls weren't scary to him like boys were to me. It was like he knew _everything_ they wanted to hear and stuff like that. He was a perfect gentlemen. But the only reason he was like that was like that was because they carried in them the great red stuff Cyprus so loved and needed.

Even though he was in a relationship with Ivy Dogwood, he always had little flings on the side. Everyone knew that and just assumed he was promiscuous. They never thought of the _real_ reason why he went after those girls.

Even though Cyprus was a regular Don Juan, I could tell he was freaking out about that girl. And he knew that I knew what had just happened.

"Would you calm down?" I hissed at him even though he hadn't said anything to me since he started the car and left the parking lot.

Cyprus looked like he was startled out of a reverie or something. "What?" he mumbled dreamily.

We were in the garage when I finally talked to him. The car was parked and Cyprus cut the engine. He didn't even look at me when he answered my question. He just got out of the car and headed inside. Of course, I followed hurriedly behind my older brother.

"Cyprus!" I called. "I know you're not gonna tell me what happened, but you should know that whatever happened isn't gonna be too bad!" I didn't know why at the time but that stopped Cyprus right in tracks.

He was in my face a full second after the words left my mouth. And he looked _mad_.

"You know _nothing_, little girl," he spat. His eyes flashed a golden brown and his fangs elongated slightly, making a dent in his lower lip. "You may _think_ you know what you saw, but you _don't_."

Before he could stalk off, though, I quickly reached behind his ear and grabbed something. I hurriedly hid my arm behind my back so that he couldn't take it off. But he just eyed me strangely and walked off to his bedroom on the first floor, faster than my eye could follow.

I wasn't _stunned_ exactly. I was just..._confused_ as to why he had just given me his scary vampire face. He knew I hated that face. But I just shrugged it off and thought, _Stupid vampire speed_ before heading upstairs to my room. I heard Cyprus chuckle distinctly from his room.

Then I decided exactly what I was gonna do with the piece of female hair I stole from him.

~oOo~

_"...straight to that asshole's house and _EAT_ him."_

I smiled slightly. Luke and Holly were home.

I climbed out of my bed and adjusted my skirt so my butt wasn't hanging out. Then I walked over to the banister and leaned over it, looking down at Luke who was staring daggers at Holly.

"Who are you gonna eat, Luke?" I asked gently so Luke wouldn't yell at me. I gave him a tiny smile when he glanced my way.

"Caleb," he snarled, turning his glower back to Holly.

I looked at Holly for the first time since I came out of my room. Her perfectly straight hair was mussed and frizzy. Her shirt was crumpled and her makeup was kind of smeared underneath her eyes. I could just see her running her hands down her face because something was stressing her, forgetting that she had makeup on.

"Oh my," I whispered.

"What did he _do_?" hissed a deep voice from below. And lo' and behold, Cyprus was behind Holly in nothing but a towel, his magnificent abs shining with shower water and his hair tousled and still wet.

I sighed. Cyprus and Luke mad at the same time about the _same_ thing. This wasn't going to end well.

~oOo~

It was 6:30 that evening and my brothers still hadn't come home. I wasn't particularly worried because they knew what they were doing and they weren't going to get in trouble for how they went about doing it. I just hoped Caleb got what he deserved. Good thing Cyprus and Luke got along or they'd have torn Caleb apart—literally.

So, instead of wasting my time wondering what my brothers were doing, I went up to the beautiful sanctuary I called my bedroom.

In my opinion, my bedroom was the best room in the house. Sure, it could get pretty messy at times and it was a periwinkle color but it was where I read my favorite books, where I listened to my favorite music and where I slept like a corpse. I loved it.

And now, it was also my mad scientist lab... Or more like my sizzling cauldron, 'cuz let's get real here, people. I'm a witch not a scientist. Magic class beats science class any day!

Anyway! I was looking through a spell book Asia, the leader of Circle Twilight, gave me so I can practice simple spells, when I remembered that I had a volunteer shift at the local herb shop—the Local Herb Shoppe—that started at 6:45. And, as always, I hurried to get decent so my boss didn't yell at me over my rumpled, silver-blond hair.

"Holly!" I called, hurrying down the stairs while trying to slip on my sandals and almost tripping in the process. "Holly!"

"What?" she replied, walking in from the family room. "Why are you yelling?" She was in her favorite sweats, her golden brown hair was up and she was eating ice cream.

"I'm gonna be late for my volunteer shift, Holly." I gave her my puppy eyes while trying to adjust my arm bracelet.

Holly just rolled her eyes. "Get in the buggy, kid."

I smiled and skipped to the car.

The drive was short and silent. I guess Holly had nothing to say about her day and I really wasn't going to press her about it. So she just dropped me off at the Shoppe and told me to call her once my shift was over. And then she was gone.

I walked into the shop, realizing that I was the only one on shift tonight. And that was just perfect. I needed to figure out what I was gonna do about Cyprus's situation.

_Now_, I thought as I was on my tiptoes on a stool trying to reach the Shoppe's top bookshelf. _What spell am I gonna use to find Cyprus's girl?_

"Skylar?" a voice said from behind. I almost toppled from my place on the stool when I heard his voice. His beautiful, Cajun French-accented voice...

"What are you doing, _cher_?"

_Damn. Dammit, dammit, dammit, dammit._

"Uh... Hi, Etienne." I tried to make myself presentable so that I didn't look like a total dork. My smile was shaky. "I thought I was the only one on shift tonight."

The boy smiled. "You are, but Boss called me in tonight so that I could keep an eye on you. He has a feeling that you are up to something bad." Then he winked at me.

I all but melted inside. I was freaking out and dying and having so much _feeling_s, it was ridiculous. Like, Etienne needed to stop existing cuz he was just too perfect.

But all I just said was, "Thanks. I guess."

And he laughed. He _laughed_. "You're welcome, _cher_." Then he left the room.

And I just crumpled up on the floor, smiling like a weirdo just because Etienne smiled _and _winked at me. That Cajun French boy who's only fifteen but looks like a twenty-year-old model _and _he was a witch, too! Too bad Etienne didn't think of me that way. At least that's what I thought.

* * *

**_Note:_**

**Okay, so here is the end of chapter three! I feel like Skylar sounds like a fangirl... Not sure if that's bad or good, so please R&R! It's greatly appreciated :D  
**

**I've decided that the next chapter is going to be Luke's POV and will start with the boys confronting Caleb about invading Holly's personal space rather creepily. So stay tuned! :)  
**


	5. Luke's Love

**Same Day, At the Zane Home. Luke's POV.**

"...I'll go straight to that asshole's house and _EAT _him," I replied to Holly, cutting her off. It wasn't until a second later did I blink and realize how stupid that sounded. I mean, seriously? _Eat_ him? I couldn't even stand breathing the same air as that creep. But I was so angry that moment that I didn't care how it sounded. If I had to for Holly, I'd eat that son of a—

"Who are you gonna eat, Luke?" asked a soft voice from the top of the staircase, interrupting my angry thoughts. I glanced quickly at Skylar, leaning against the banister looking down at me with amused fondness in her eyes.

"Caleb." The answer was short and clipped. I was so freaking mad.

"Oh my," whispered Skylar, probably intending for no one to hear it. But of course, Holly and I did. So did Cyprus in the bathroom. That was what she got for living under the same roof with three supernatural, inhuman creatures.

_"What did he do?"_ hissed a furious voice from behind Holly.

Cyprus was standing there in nothing but a towel, his hair still dripping wet. I rolled my eyes. Dude can be over dramatic sometimes.

"Are you okay, Cyprus?" asked Holly in a questioning voice. She was staring intently at Cyprus's face, as if looking for something. Then I actually looked at my brother's face and kinda had a mini freak out.

Cyprus looked like a fucking vampire. Yes, I know. He _was_ one, but usually, he just looked like a seventeen-year-old _human_ kid, not like a vamp. But, right then his fangs were elongated and his eyes were a bright-jewel shiny brown color.

"Everything will be _perfect_ if you just tell Luke and I what that fucker did to you," replied Cyprus sarcastically.

Holly sighed and walked over to the foot of the stairs, putting her head in her hands as she sat down. "Caleb forced me into a closet and kinda squeezed my butt and I kicked his ass and drove home," she said quickly.

And then Cyprus and I walked out of the house, with the full intention of permanently breaking Caleb's dick.

~oOo~

"Hey, Allie, baby. How are you?" asked Cyprus smoothly when Allie Caraway opened the door to see a near-naked vampire outside her house. But Cyprus was just casual, totally acting as if he were unaware that he was just in a towel. "Is Caleb home, love?" he inquired, smiling sweetly in to Caraway's beady eyes.

Caraway just started breathing shallowly and stared unabashedly at Cyprus's abs, probably deaf to his question.

"Allie!" called a deep voice. "Who the hell's at the door?"

_Caleb__._

"Hey, Caleb," I said, shoving past Allie into the house. "Did you have fun with harassing Holly? Cuz she positively _loathed_ it." Then I punched him in the face. Allie gasped, snapped out of her Cyprus-ab daydream by the loud skin-on-skin smack.

Caleb's head snapped to the left with full force. His neck cracked. He turned his face to me and paused for a quick second before he started laughing. _"You?_ What the fuck are you tryna _do_, dog?" And he continued to laugh at me.

I was just about to hit him again when all of a sudden, Caleb's guffaws were snuffed out by a soft _oof!_ Cyprus had him pinned to the opposite wall, his fist bunching up Caleb's shirt, choking him the process.

_"Dog?"_ whispered Cyprus, dangerously. "First you fuck with my little sister, and then you call Luke a _dog_? You know what, Caleb? You are one sick douche." Cyprus paused and looked directly into Caleb's eyes. The douche's pupils dilated and his whole face went slack. "You will _never _go near Holly unless she goes near you and you will _never_ call Luke a dog again. Got that?"

Caleb nodded dumbly and Cyprus let him slump to the ground. Cyprus turned to the door and started walking to the door when Caleb started charging at my brother.

During the whole exchange between Cyprus and Caleb made me feel kinda lonely, so when Caleb tried to do the stupidest thing he'd ever done in his entire life besides existing—like charging at a fucking _vampire_ whose hearing is as sensitive as a cat's—I decided to take my chance and beat the crap out of him.

Aka, I grabbed Caleb's arm with a strong fist, forced him to face me and punched him hard in the eye. That was when I noticed that his other eye was sporting a bruise.

_Holly_, I thought, smiling fondly.

Caleb landed on the carpet with a loud grunt and held his hand over his eye that just got punched. "Try it again and we'll kick your ass harder," I spat. Then Cyprus and I walked out of the house like the motherfuckin' badasses we were.

~oOo~

"Holly!" I called when Cyprus and I got home, around seven o'clock. Cyprus went straight to his room, probably to change into some clothes. Kid was still in his towel. Ha-ha.

"Holly, lovely sister, where the fuck are ya?"

"Really, Luke?" said a voice to the right, coming from the living room. "Is that how you talk to your sister?"

I looked and saw my father, Aries Zane, leaning on the door jamb. His arms were crossed and his older-than-old eyes were darkened with anxiety and annoyance. The dude looked like he was at least thirty-five, young enough to still have soccer moms chasing after him. His hair was a dark brown, with silver tinting it a little; his eyes were an old ocean blue color; his skin wasn't really wrinkled, but it was getting there.

But, of course, he wasn't thirty-five. He was like Cyprus, though he was bitten when Alexander the Great was gallivanting across the Mediterranean. The truth was, even though Aries was old as hell, he was still cool to be around. His stories were awesome.

"Hey, Dad, what's up?" I replied, pulling a smile out of my ass, trying to look like I wasn't worried about getting in trouble. "You seen Holly? I have an awesome story to tell her."

"No, I haven't," Aries replied, slowly. He was eyeing me in that way of his. "But if I see her, I'll be sure to tell her about that _awesome_ story of yours."

I shrugged and started walking toward the kitchen for some food, but the dude clamped a strong hand on my bicep and squeezed lightly. Which meant that he was going to have one of his "serious talks" with me. I groaned inwardly.

"Cyprus," he called in the direction of my brother's room. "Get out here. I need to talk with you and Luke." Then Aries led me into the living room and sat me down on the main sofa. Cyprus arrived a few seconds later—with a shirt and shorts on finally—and sat next to me. Aries sat on the recliner, facing us.

There was a few minutes of silence. And then:

"Look, before you say anything, Dad, I just want you to know that I don't think Cyprus and Luke should get in trouble. Caleb totally deserved what he got."

I smiled as Holly strutted in and stood next Aries. "I mean, the dude _groped_ me, Dad."

Aries sighed and rubbed at his temples. "It's not as simple as that, Holly. What if the Caraways press charges? What'll we do then?"

"We'll go to the Elders and have them settle it," Holly replied, studying her fingernails like it was no big deal.

"I've already called them," Aries said. At the surprised expression of Cyprus and I, he continued, "As soon as I came home and you two weren't here, I had a feeling that you guys would be making trouble with the Caraways."

"We didn't start this _trouble_, as you call it," muttered Cyprus. "That stupid waste of space did."

Aries rolled his eyes and looked at Holly. "Are you okay, _mija_? He didn't do anything..._violent_ to you?" (Aries was fluent in three different languages, including Spanish. The other two were English and Italian. When the soccer moms found out, they freaked the fuck out and totally threw culture parties for him, trying to get into his pants. He didn't go to any of them.)

"Yeah, nothing too violent, Papa. I punched him in the eye to get him off me and I'm pretty sure he'll have a sore dick tomorrow." She smiled.

Aries laughed his one deep chuckle and got up from his chair. "The Elders will be here this weekend with the Caraways so you guys had better have this house clean and you two will not _dare_ get in trouble for the rest of the week. Got it?" His eyebrow cocked menacingly when he looked at Cyprus and I.

Cyprus sighed and got up as well. He stretched, yawned and said, "Sure I'll see what I can do, Dad. Well, I'm going out. Ivy and I are going hunting together." He flashed a quick smile and headed out the door.

"Come home before midnight, son," Aries muttered, knowing full well that Cyprus was still able to hear him. "And don't get Ivy in trouble."

I heard Cyprus laugh like he was chuckling right next to me. "I won't, Dad," he replied. "I'll come home before midnight." And then he was gone.

"Well..." I said after a second. "I'd better get to bed. Big day tomorrow." I started shuffling to my bedroom but Aries grabbed my arm again. "Whaaaat?" I whined. But it was Holly not Aries. He had left before I even finished my sentence, I'd realized.

She rushed into my arms, tears rolling down her face. "Th-th-thanks, Luke. He scared me bad this time. I almost died." She started sobbing.

"Oh. Oh, Holly... No problem. Just... Just don't cry..." I was _horrible_ at comforting people. Especially if they're Holly. She always did this to me. And I always made her feel better because of my awkwardness.

I patted her back and said, "There... There, I guess."

"Oh my gosh, Luke!" she cried, pushing me away. She was smiling through her tears. "Dork."

"Hey, I can't help it."

"I know. But seriously. Thanks, little bro. Caleb seriously deserved that."

"I know." I smiled and left to go to sleep.

_Job well done, Luke._ I thought cockily. _Job well done._

* * *

**_Note:_**

**Here is the end of chapter four. Hope you guys enjoy it. R&R, I love those. :)  
So, I'm thinking my favorite character is gonna be either Luke or Holly. Tell me who _your_ favorite character is. ;D  
**


	6. Cyprus's Dilemma

**That night: Cyprus's POV**

I walked quickly into the dark woods that bordered the town. And by quickly I meant practically flying into the trees with my feet barely touching the ground, thanks to my vampire speed.

It was the most incredible feeling, to run so fast that the _human_ eye wouldn't even be able register the movement. The air in my hair, on my skin... It was a feeling that I could barely describe and it frustrated me because it felt so _good_. So _damn_ good. Like taking a deep breath of cold air after being in a dark, stuffy, dank place for too long. And the thing was, when I ran that fast, nothing was a blur around me. It was the exact opposite, actually—I saw everything with perfect clarity. And the fact that I was moving so fast was just a mere fact. My body was excellent at keeping its balance.

Fast as I was, Ivy was faster. I heard her feet touch the ground softly to the right of me and by the way she was shifting her weight from one foot to the other, I knew that she was in the mood for a race. And that's what I gave her.

During these late night meetings, Ivy and I would meet at the heart of the wood, where there was a clearing. We went there because it was this part was untouched by the humans, making it the purest thing I'd ever been around in my whole seventeen years... In time, I'd be wrong about this statement.

Anyway, getting to this clearing took a lot of time if someone were just walking through the trees and foliage. But, as Ivy and I weren't walking, it didn't take us _that_ much time to get there. Perhaps twenty minutes, maybe more? For humans, it would have been more that two hours.

Twenty minutes or more later, Ivy beat me to the clearing just a mere seconds ahead of me. She danced her victory dance and flew up into her favorite tree, expecting me to follow. And, of course, I did. She was the love of my life, at the moment. We'd been together since the eighth grade and shared so many secrets and moments together, I couldn't even count it if I tried.

I met her at the top of the tree in two seconds and immediately embraced her, catching her mouth with my lips in a heated, passionate kiss. My hands roamed her body, her curves, her hair. I pressed myself against her, trying to meld ourselves together. She responded by clamping her arms around my middle and pressing her tummy against me, hard.

I expected my body to respond to her willingness but it didn't. The thing that got me, though, was that I wasn't surprised. I wasn't upset, either. I just accepted it calmly, like someone had just told me that my plant cactus died. (That actually happened to me once, and I was so confused on how it died. I still don't know to this day.)

Our kissing came to an end, and I sighed silently against her lips. This wasn't going anywhere; it was a dead end. I gently pushed her away from my body and leaned against the tree trunk, careful not to touch her. This was the moment when I'd have to break her heart... And it wasn't going to be a proud moment for me.

She looked at me, confused as to why I'd pushed her away. She looked like she wanted to be in my arms but I couldn't hold her. All of a sudden, I was repulsed by her, didn't like the way that she was so close to me even though there was a two-foot gap between us. At that moment, all I really wanted to do was get away from her and go...somewhere... I didn't know where at the time, but I did know that Ivy was nowhere near my paradise.

I looked at Ivy, directly into her eyes and said, "Ivy. I'm sorry but—"

I didn't ever get to finish my sentence. I guess she saw it in my eyes, what I was about to say and totally did not want me to say what I needed to say. So she left in a human blink of an eye, running out of our clearing with glistening eyes. Before she was out of my hearing range, though, she whispered the last thing that she'd ever say to me:

"I don't know why but I will find out, Zane. Something happened and I _will_ find out."

The words were faint, but distinct. They were full of venom, confusion, hurt and determination. If I'd been more mature, more careful, I would have heeded the warning. But I didn't. That was my first mistake. And I made so many mistakes, afterward.

~oOo~

It was three o'clock in the morning when I got home. I was dead tired and constipated, 'cuz of all that deer's blood I feasted on in the forest after Ivy had left me.

I came in through the front door and headed toward my room on the first floor. I stopped for a moment in front of the door, pushing it closed behind me and closed my eyes. I let my mind's arm reach out for the other minds in the house. And...I found that Holly was taking a _really_ late shower; that Aries was in his room, making late night phone calls to people that were important to him for his job; that Luke was on his laptop, probably late night blogging and that Skylar...was doing witchy stuff in the living room.

I started walking toward my room when I caught a whiff of something familiar. It was distinctly female, cherry-scented and..._human_. Then I recognized it.

_Her hair._

"Skylar!" I growled, storming toward the living room. "What are you doing?!" Just as I got to the doorway, I was immediately engulfed in a blue glow-y bubble thing. I floated to the ceiling, arms flailing and legs trying to gain some sort of balance. "SKYLAR. WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK IS HAPPENING TO ME?!"

Skylar came out of the living room and leaned up against the door jamb, sizing up her handiwork. "Hm," she replied in an observatory voice. "Seems that you've triggered my spell. See, I put up this thing called an..._alarm_, I guess you can say, so that anyone who tried coming into the living room could get kicked out. I mean, I am working on something, anyhow." She shrugged sleepily, and casually turned her back to me, heading back to her stupid cauldron.

"Skylar!" I called. She stopped and turned, with a fake questioning look.

"Yes, brother?"

"I'm going to _kill _you if you don't get me out of this bubble!" I squirmed for emphasis.

"Oh, I can't do that. You're stuck up there for as long as I need you to be." She smiled an innocent grin and turned toward the living room again.

"For how long?" I growled.

She turned again. "I gotta get my stuff cleaned up. I'm done with my project so I'm going to get some sleep. Maybe twenty minutes?" She smiled wider and returned to her place.

"TWENTY MINUTES?!"

"Yup," she called back.

"UGH, SKYLAR!"

"Shut up, I'll work as fast as I can. That's what you get for storming threateningly toward the living room for me. You had no reason to be scary."

"You're doing something, Skylar. You're going to regret it if you continue with this," I growled deeply I knew what she was doing and it was very dangerous for her to get involved with this.

"Oh and why's that?" she questioned cockily.

"Just watch and see, little girl," I replied, still up in that bubble trying to get a sense of balance but failing miserably.

"Ugh," Skylar scoffed while leaving the living room and climbing up the stairs, arms full of her witch shit. "I _am not_ a little girl, Cyprus. You'll see why." She arrived at her door, threw all her stuff inside her room, snapped her fingers—deftly popping the bubble, making me fall straight on my butt—and closed her door to her room with a slight _huff_.

I sighed, pushing myself up to my feet. I shuffled to my room, closed the door and collapsed on my bed. I was definitely not going to go to school tomorrow. I was too tired and Aries would understand.

~oOo~

"Cyprus!" hissed a high-pitched voice. "Get up! I need to get to school!" Skylar pushed and shoved at my unmoving, slightly-still-sleeping form. She didn't even move me an inch. She growled in frustration.

"Go _away_, child." I shifted to the left, away from her. She smelled weird and it was bothering my nose. Stupid sensitive nostrils. "I'm not going to school."

Skylar shuffled her feet. "How the hell am I getting to school then, _brother_?" Her voice was getting increasingly annoyed.

"Ask Holly," I mumbled. I was already falling back to sleep.

Skylar whacked me on my back, jolting me awake. "She left already! Luke almost got left behind with the freshman."

"Go away!" I growled.

"No." Skylar shuffled her feet more. All of a sudden, the girl was sitting on my hip, pushing all her weight onto the bone.

"OW! SKYLAR, GET OFF."

"Not until you get your ass up," she replied "and take me to school, or I'll ditch and stay here all day, sitting right here." She emphasized this statement by pushing her weight further onto my hipbone. It was at this moment that I hated being so skinny.

"Ugh, Skylar, you're so fat!" I wiggled under her, trying to get out but I didn't budge.

"I like food," she shrugged.

"How 'bout losing weight?" I countered.

She pushed against the bone, making me cry out in pain. "I'll sit here all day if you continue to insult me. I mean it."

I sighed in surrender. "Fine, just get your fat ass off me."

Skylar jumped off the bed and turned around, making sure that I was actually getting up. I was, in fact. That little bugger would continue to annoy me if I didn't drop her off at school.

"Ugh," I grumbled. "What time is it?"

"Almost seven-thirty," she answered, stiffly.

"What time do you have to be there?"

"Jesus Christ, you've gone to that school for nearly four years!" she replied, exasperated.

_"What time?"_

"Lord... Seven forty-five."

"Why can't you get Aries to drop you off?" I asked, dragging my hands down my face trying to get rid of the sleep from my eyes. I grabbed the closet article of clothing near me and tried to figure out what it was. After a few seconds, I realized that it was feminine. I think it was a bra. _I've really gotta get rid of their stupid clothes after I'm done with them_, I thought tiredly.

"You know exactly why, brother," answered Skylar, impatiently. "He has no patience with cars and if he finds something wrong that's really not important to the car actually running properly, he freaks the fuck out and will refuse to drive it." Hm, Skylar just said _fuck_. She really was annoyed.

I sighed again and reached out to grab a shirt that was hanging off my desk chair. It smelled slightly of my Axe spray and of Ivy. I wrinkled my nose at the scent but shrugged, thinking that if I didn't put something on quickly, Skylar would kick my ass.

(Really, Skylar knows how to fight. One time, there was this middle-aged woman picking on some gay kid at the local grocery store, saying things like he's going to hell and shit and Skylar comes outta nowhere and starts telling off this woman. The woman actually had the audacity to grab Skylar's wrist, claiming that she was going to find our dad or whatever. Skylar flipped the woman's grasp on her arm and in two seconds, Skylar was the one holding onto the woman, tightly. She said something threatening or whatever and the woman walked off without another word. The gay clerk and I were very astounded.)

Anyway, I pull on the shirt and tug on some jeans, tired but awake. I wasn't going back to sleep after this. I walked out of the room, grabbing my phone along the way. Swaggering to my car with Skylar in tow, I realize that it was September 12th. It was our anniversary, me and Ivy's. I was sad for like a split second but then I started the car. Fuck going to school. Fuck staying at home. I'm going to the fucking Black Iris Club.

* * *

_**Note:**_

**Done. Lord, I've really gotta finish this story. I wanna start another one. R&R, that'll be absolutely fucking fabulous.  
**


	7. Holly's Caleb

**September 12th: Holly's POV**

I really didn't wanna go to school. I was so tired from all the studying, all the community service and all the shit that Caleb had been giving me the last few weeks. I was going to snap and break his neck if he didn't leave me alone. And what was worse was that Luke always kept a vigilant eye on me, was always there beside my side, trying to keep Caleb away from me. It worked when it was lunch and in between classes but Caleb always found an unsuitable time for us to be alone. It was irksome and a bit scary. I didn't know what to do.

It was the end of the day and I was in my sixth period class, U.S. history. I found the class both boring and interesting, mainly boring because I knew what was going on and knew every answer to every test question and did brilliant on all the essays assigned. I hated U.S. history class because it was predictable. As is every history class, but at least it was about the world's countries not about the U.S.A.

Anyway, Mrs. Dawson mumbled away about the Civil War and what caused the break of the Southern states and how the Border States were important to the Union, blah blah boring. I was just about to fall asleep when I heard a soft tap at the window, too soft for the rest of the humans to hear. But of course, I was a shifter with incredible hearing, so I heard the sound.

I looked to the right at the window and saw nothing. I shrugged and went back to falling asleep when I heard another tap. I swiftly looked to my right again, and...nothing.

_What the fuck_, I thought irritably. _Once more and I'll fucking get up and leave school right now__._

_Tap. Tap.  
_

"Ugh!" I hissed silently. I looked at the window and nothing was there. I shot my hand up in the air and asked to go to the restroom when Mrs. Dawson called on me.

"No, I don't think so, sweetie," Mrs. Dawson answered. "There's twenty minutes till the school day ends and I think you can wait." She smiled demurely and went back to her lecture.

But I wasn't about to take no for an answer.

"Mrs. Dawson," I whined, hand up in the air again. "I really need to go." I pleaded with my eyes, giving her a helpless look.

She looked back at me and I swear I saw annoyance flash in her otherwise tranquil-looking eyes. "Holly, dear, you can wait."

_Oh, bitch, do _not _tell me I can wait_, I thought viciously.

"Look, Mrs. Dawson," I said, getting her attention again. She stopped her lecture abruptly and looked at me, piercingly sugar sweet. I didn't waver because I was just about to whip out the ultimate playing card: feminine issues. "I really, _really_ need to use the restroom. I think you know why." I gave her the _look_.

Mrs. Dawson stared at me like she was imagining ways to kill me. Strange getting that look from a sweet old lady. "Fine," she muttered after a long second. She then continued her lecture, adamantly ignoring me gathering my stuff and walking out the room. All my classmates stared at my back as I left them behind seventeen minutes earlier than I was supposed to.

* * *

_Fuck school_, I thought spitefully. _If only I could just skip this part and live the life I'm supposed to, then I'd be fucking pleasant to everyone._ Oh, well.

I was about to get into my car when I heard a footstep twenty feet behind me. A familiar footstep, heavy, quiet and stealthy.

_Oh, shit._

"Hey, Holly," whispered a deep voice from those twenty feet behind me. He knew I heard and he knew I knew he was behind me. But what was weird was that he didn't move closer like he usually did just to creep me out.

I turned around to face Caleb. I didn't know what he wanted and I sure as hell didn't wanna give it to him.

I sighed deeply when I looked at Caleb's face. It was tear-stained and his eyes were bloodshot. I could smell the alcohol on his breath from the twenty feet where I stood from him. He was clearly upset, I could see. But I couldn't find it in myself to be compassionate for the douche. He harassed me one too many times to earn any kind of sympathy from me.

He could see this all in my face, too, I could tell by the strangled noise that came out of his throat. His body crumpled a bit and his head hung down in what seemed like complete and utter defeat. He brought up the hand holding his beer and took a swig out of the bottle, all the while mumbling and crying.

I didn't know what to do. I couldn't just leave him like this. He was drunk, sobbing and was too messed up to be left in the street. He could even get into a fight if provoked... _Ugh! Looks like I'm going to have to babysit him till he's sober._ _Fuuuuck._

I sighed, again. I opened up my car door and stowed my bag in the back seat. I gathered all the papers on the passenger seat and threw it all in the back. _One of these days,_ I thought, _I've really gotta clear all the crap from my car. Aries isn't gonna let me keep this thing if I don't take care of it..._

I left the door open as I walked over to where Caleb was still standing, in his defeated position, drinking the last bits of beer he had in his bottle. I still couldn't make out what he was mumbling about but when I was right in front of him, he stopped murmuring and looked me straight in the eye. The look he gave me was completely sober and lucid. He was gonna say something and I wasn't gonna like it.

"Holly..." he whispered, totally blasting me with repugnant breath, foul enough to curl wallpaper.

"Ugh," I gasped when Caleb collapsed some of his body weight into my arms. I staggered a little, but I was strong enough to keep from falling back. His stench overwhelmed me.

"Mmmm," he sighed. "You smell just like peaches and cream, Holly." He smiled a little, and tried to put his arm over my waist to cuddle me but he stumbled, pushing me back even more.

"Ew, Caleb," I mumbled. I had to push his hand away; it was getting _way_ too close to my ass. I pushed him up and put my arm around his middle so that I could guide him to my car. "Let's get your ass home before anyone sees this." I huffed and puffed all the way but I made it without falling down.

"Nnngh."

I stuffed Caleb in the backseat, making sure that he was laying down in a comfortable position and that none of my stuff was under him. I got rid of the beer bottle and got into the front seat. Before I started the engine, though, I texted Luke saying that he'd have to catch a ride with Skylar and Cyprus. Then I texted Aries, telling him that I was going to have company over for the night.

It was going to be a _very_ long night. Thank the Goddess that it was Friday.

~oOo~

It was nearly eight that night and Caleb was still crashed on my bed, snoring his heart out. I'd completely forgotten to text his sister, Allie, that he was going to spend the night with me. I almost died of fright when she called my phone, yelling and screaming that her brother never came home and that it was my fault or something. When she finally calmed down, I explained to her that Caleb was with me.

"Yeah, he's gonna sleep over," I whispered to Allie. I didn't wanna say anything that might upset her again.

She paused for like two minutes then she burst out laughing. "What?! Caleb, the dude that you _hate_ with a _passion_ is gonna stay under the same roof with you for the next twelve _hours_?! What'd he do to change your mind, princess? Knock you up? HA! This is too funny!"

"Caleb and I did _not_ have sex!" I whispered indignantly. She continued guffawing into the telephone for the next five minutes. "Allie! Quit laughing! It's _so_ not funny."

"I don't know what's going on between you and my brother—"

"There is _nothing_ going on!"

"—and I don't wanna know. Just don't fuck up, Zane. Things'll get nasty if something..._bad_ happens."

It was quiet on the other line for another minute. Allie was totally expecting for me to say something to that but I didn't know what. So I didn't say anything. The line went dead after the minute was over.

I put down my phone and looked over at Caleb's sleeping form. What was going _on_ with him? Why did he always seem to have to _bother_ me? Was it because he really didn't like the fact that I was who I was or was it because I repeatedly shot down his advances? Was this really testosterone-motivated? Because he was irked I didn't wanna go out with him? UGH! I hated boys so much at that moment. Especially _him_.

Three hours later, I was sitting on my laptop finishing up my English essay. My phone buzzed to alert me that I had a new text message. I bent over my computer to get my phone. It wasn't a flattering position, as my ass was in the air.

The lump of snoring clothes on my bed stirred. I looked behind me and saw that Caleb was staring at me. His eyes were bloodshot and tired but completely sober. His face oozed sleepiness and confusion. He slowly disentangled his body in the ball he'd curled up in and sat up. All the while looking at me with confusion and disbelief.

"Good morning, loser. Have a nice nap?" I chirped, ignoring his stupid look and answering my text message. It was from Kaylee West from my sociology class. She was asking if we'd had any homework for the weekend.

Caleb ran a hand through his sexily disheveled hair. _Wait...what? _He stretched his back, his shirt riding up his stomach a little, revealing a tantalizing piece of skin. _Wait, huh? _His spine popped a bit, making noises and he groaned satisfyingly seductive. _Seductive? Caleb?! _He licked his mouth, making a face at the taste of his breath. I almost melted.

_WHAT IS GOING ON WITH ME?!_

I looked away from Caleb, blushing ferociously and trying to not make it obvious that I was staring at him. I didn't know he could look so vulnerable... I didn't know he could look so _damn_ sexy.

"Ugh. I need a cup of water." Caleb lurched off my bed and stumbled to the door. I scrambled to get up and follow him. Aries and everyone else knew that he was here because of his stupid drunkenness but I really didn't want them seeing him. They would have made so much fun of me if they had.

"Here," I said, leaning forward to catch the doorknob before he did. My arm brushed his side and it was then that I noticed he was very solid. "Um...I'll get you the glass of water." I opened the door and scurried out, slamming the door behind me.

As soon as I stepped into the kitchen, I tripped over my own foot and crash landed on my side, bruising my hip.

"Ow," I mumbled into the floor. I laid there for a few minutes, screaming internally at myself and freaking out. I didn't know what was going on, I didn't know why this was happening and I didn't know what the fuck I was gonna do about it.

Cyprus walked in the kitchen, then, spotting me on the floor. He paused for a second, took me in, shrugged and stepped over my curled up form.

"I don't know what's going on with you and Caleb—" Cyprus started out casually.

_"Nothing. Is. Going. On. Fuck off."_

"—and I don't wanna know," he continued as if I hadn't spoken. Cyprus opened up the fridge and grabbed a bowl of grapes. He shut the door and walked over me again. "Just be careful with that asshole. You know _exactly_ how he is." With that, he left the kitchen, chomping away at his grapes.

I groaned. Got up and went to the cabinets for a glass.

Ten minutes later, I was up in my room with Caleb. I handed him the glass of water and plopped down on my bed. I was exhausted but didn't want to go to sleep. It was only nine-thirty anyhow.

Caleb had settled himself in my computer desk chair and was sipping the water all the while looking at me.

I glared at him with one eye. "What?"

He shrugged. "Your panties are showing." He winked.

"Ugh! Perv." I crawled underneath my covers and hid my face from him. The blush was rising up again. _Damn._

Caleb just chuckled. "Thanks, Holly."

I peeked up from my blanket warily. "...For what?"

Caleb grinned widened. "Everything. I owe you big time."

I just huffed. "Whatever."

"No, I mean it! You're so good to me even though I don't deserve."

"You sure as hell don't," I muttered. He heard of course, laughing at me.

"Yeah, I know." I heard him shift in the chair. "Just know that I'll do anything for you okay?"

My head popped out from underneath the blanket. "Anything?"

He nodded. "Yes, anything."

"...Why?"

Caleb shrugged, breaking eye contact from me. "Just know that it's because you...mean something to me. I'm not telling you what, or how." His eyes made their way back to mine. "I owe you."

I smiled at Caleb. "Thanks. We'll see how this goes."

He smiled back. "Okay."

I slept relieved that night.

* * *

_**Note:**_

**Done with this chapter. Hoped you guys enjoyed it. It isn't my best work so R&R and I'll see what I'll do. I'll go over the grammatical and spelling mistakes later, so don't get frustrated with me. Next chapter will be up soon.**


	8. Caleb's Compromise

_**Note: **_I'm sorry for not uploading for so long, but I've had writers' block and tons of shit going on. I hope you guys like this next chapter. R&R.

* * *

**The Next Day: Caleb's POV**

I woke up from the side of the bed Holly had let me sleep on at 8:00 A.M. It was Saturday morning. At first I was completely confused—I didn't know where I was or who the girl I might have screwed was. But then everything came back to me. I was sleeping next to the girl I loved and she was sleeping peacefully. She looked like an angel... Hell, look at me, being all cliché and cheesy about _Holly_. I couldn't help it though. I loved her.

I loved her for as long as I could remember. I just couldn't show it properly. And it _sucked_ that I was weird about the whole feelings for her. It _sucked_ that I acted like a little shit around her. I didn't know how to..._be_ a decent person. It was just weird. I don't know why, but I knew I had to work on this whole personality defect before I told her my feelings or she'd just laugh it off and think I was just trying to get into her pants... Which wouldn't have been so bad, I mean. Her body was bomb.

Anyway, I rolled off her bed, fully intending to bail out of there so that I could go home and take a nice long shower. But, as soon as my feet hit the ground, Holly woke up.

"Caleb?" she murmured, sleepily.

"Uh..." I didn't know what to say. She could have still been half asleep and I wouldn't have known. "What's up?" I finished lamely.

She sighed a really sexy sigh and rolled over, her bared leg wrapped around the covers. She ran a hand down her face, wiping off the drool that had been crawling its way to her ear. I found it completely endearing and adorable. _(Fuck me, I was head over heels for this chick.)_

"Where're you going? Daddy's having the Elders over with your sister and parents so they can discuss what to do with my brothers for beating you up. Daddy says you and I have to be there." She sighed again, sleepily. She rolled over to grab something on the right side of her and I got a good shot of her panties.

Wait, what? I'd completely forgotten about that. Hadn't that been a month ago? I'd stayed away from those freaks since then because I hadn't wanted to get into more trouble. Funny, eh? Me, not wanting to get into trouble when that's all I'd done so far in my seventeen years... Anyway, I was really confused about what Holly was saying and I could tell that she'd noticed.

Holly righted herself up. Her shirt was all messed up and I could see her bra peeking up. She sighed again. "I know it was awhile ago, but things came up and the Elders couldn't make it and Daddy had stuff going on... It was weird. But now that the Elders are in town—one vampire Elder and one shapeshifter Elder, I dunno who they are—they're gonna want to figure out what to do with my brothers."

I sneered. I desperately wanted to change the subject. "Why do you keep calling them your _brothers_? They're not like us." Wrong, wrong thing to say!

Holly just looked at me. "Because I love them and what they are doesn't matter to me because _they are my brothers_," she replied.

She got up from her bed and moved toward a door to the left, passing by me on her way there. She pressed her hand against my chest and whispered, "I know you understand." Then she disappeared inside the other room.

~oOo~

Thirty minutes later, Holly came out of her bathroom with her face full of fresh makeup and her hair dried. I didn't know what happened, but it was like magic. She went into the bathroom a sleepy, drooly cute mess and came out looking like princess.

"What?" she said when she caught me staring.

"Oh, ah, ahem, shit." I didn't know what to say.

"Shit? I look like shit?" was her answer. Her face was amused, her lip tilting up just a little bit.

"What?" Was she flirting? What was going on?

She started laughing, giggling at the stupid look on my face. "Why are you acting like you've seen the sun for the first time? It's weird."

"I know what the sun looks like," I retorted.

"Whatever," she replied, rolling her eyes. She sidled passed me to her dresser and opened up a drawer, pulling out some jeans. Stepping out of her pajama shorts and into her jeans, she was ready for the day.

"C'mon, it's what, eight-thirty, maybe nine in the morning?" She checked her phone for confirmation. "It's still early enough to get some breakfast. Like Denny's?" She looked at my face for some kind of answer.

I was just really confused. I didn't know why she was being so nice to me; it was so weird.

"No? Okay, how about Carrow's?" She looked at me expectedly.

"Oh, um," I replied. I looked down at myself, wondering if I were suitable to go out in public.

I was wearing the same jeans and flannel I'd had on the day before. My shirt was stained and my jeans were dirty, with spots I couldn't identify. My hair was a mess and I stank.

I caught Holly staring at me. "I look like shit, though."

She laughed. "You sure do. Wanna stop by your house to get cleaned up? We'd be back from breakfast by noon. The Elders will be here at one."

I blinked. "Um... Sure?"

Holly grinned. "Okay, let's go. I'll tell my dad where we're going." She turned for the door, but then whipped her head back toward me. "Just don't say anything to anyone." Her eyes flashed some unexpected emotion I couldn't quite identify. She left the room without another word.

As soon as she was gone, I grabbed my phone out of my jean pocket so that I could call Allie. My phone was almost dead and there were thirty messages and missed calls altogether, clogging up the memory. I sighed and sat down on Holly's bed, going through the messages. Most of them were from my sister but some were from the annoying girl I'd banged last Saturday. I groaned again as I read her messages.

7:03 P.M. _Hey. :)_

8:29 P.M. _Caleb...?_

8:48 P.M. _Babe._

9:09 P.M. _Come on, don't ignore me._

9:41 P.M. _So what, after that night you're gonna pretend that it never happened?_

9:56 P.M. _Fuck you, Caleb! I hate you. Don't ever call me again._

10:17 P.M. _Baby, I'm sorry, I didn't mean that. I was just mad._

10:30 P.M. _Caleb?_

I groaned even louder, completely pissed at—I had to check her contact name because I'd forgotten what it was—Selene for being so damn clingy. I was mad at myself too. I would not have picked her up that one Saturday had I known she'd be this fucking crazy. I sighed again, deleting all the text messages and voicemails from my phone so that I could call Allie without the damn thing being slow.

The phone rang twice before she picked up.

"Caleb?" answered Allie, sounding like she'd just gotten up.

"Yeah, sis. Just wanted to call to let you know Holly's taking me to breakfast and I'll be home later." I grimaced at the way it sounded. Almost like a date, really.

Allie scoffed. "Don't you sound precious. So when's the wedding, _brother_?" I could almost see her face pulling up in that special grimace she saved for Holly.

"Shut up, Allie," I replied, getting really uncomfortable.

Allie barked out a laugh. "Whatever. Oh, by the way, your little girlfriend showed up last night. She was wondering if you were okay and brought over pie." I heard her climb out of her bed and close a door behind her—probably the bathroom door.

"What?" I hissed. "She _what_?"

"Brought pie. It was delicious."

"No, shut up about the damn pie, sister. That bitch came over to the _house_? What time?"

There was a pause. Seemed that Allie was thinking for once. "Around midnight? I dunno, but it was around the time Frank called."

Frank was Allie's boyfriend of about six months. He was gross, even from my point of view. "Ugh," I replied. "Okay, never answer or talk to her again. She's a fuckin' psycho."

"Whatever, dude. Talk to you later, I gotta pee." The phone line went dead.

I moaned, falling down into Holly's bed. _Fucking psycho..._

The door opened. "Come on, Caleb. I'm starving."

I got up from the bed and staggered toward Holly's voice. My headache was getting stronger and I needed coffee really bad.

She caught me easily, hands steadying me by my biceps. "Shit, Caleb. You've really gotta slow down on the drinking. You stink."

I managed to right myself but I didn't want Holly to stop touching me. I didn't want her fingers to let go of my arms and I didn't want the warmth of her breath on my neck gone. I wanted to hold her and I never wanted to let go.

I waited a second too long to step away from her. She looked up at me and our mouths were mere centimeters apart. She sucked in a breath and closed her eyes. I didn't know what that meant but I felt her head moving closer to my face and I started moving toward hers...

"Gross."

Holly and I jumped two feet away from one another and whipped our heads toward the voice.

Luke stood at the end of the hallway where his bedroom door was open. He was leaning against the door jamb with his arms folded across his chest. He had a bitch face on.

I glanced at Holly, not knowing what to do. Her face was a mixture of embarrassment, annoyance and confusion. Her cheeks were burning red.

She straightened her shoulders and turned fully to Luke. "Go back on your computer. You have nothing to see here."

Luke rolled his eyes and shot a glare my way. I returned it with enthusiasm. "Whatever," he replied. "Have fun on your date." He shut the door behind him.

Holly's face turned even redder and she refused to meet my eyes. She grabbed my arm and towed me downstairs, out the door and into her car.

"It's not a date," she whispered to herself, as if trying to convince herself.

My heart dropped into the deepest pit of my stomach.

* * *

_**Note:**_

**Thank God that this chapter is done! I'm sorry for not updating. I've got another story I wanna start but I have to finish this one. R&R please! :)**


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